Former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told the convention that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate Sen. Kamala Harris’ (D-CA) vision for America is socialism, which has failed everywhere it’s been applied. She also argued that the UN is "a place where dictators, murderers and thieves denounce America and then put their hands out and demand that we pay their bills." What are we to make of this?
The killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others seemed to have been overtaken in the public consciousness by COVID-19, party conventions, and the resumption of professional sports, but protests have ignited again in the wake of the Sunday incident in which unarmed Black man Jacob Blake was shot multiple times in the back by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, with his three young children present. On Friday night, police in Lafayette, Louisiana, shot and killed Trayford Pellerin, a 31-year-old Black man, outside a convenience store. Tuesday marks three months since Floyd was killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota. How does this keep happening?
"President Donald Trump's reelection campaign announced Sunday that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will address this week's Republican National Convention," Common Dreams reported Monday. This is raising concerns from a few fronts, the outlet noted, as "it's unprecedented for the nation's top diplomat to participate in this type of political event and because he will reportedly speak from 'an undisclosed location' in Jerusalem while he's there on official travel." How will this play out?
"Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday thanked ally Iran for helping the South American country overcome US sanctions on its oil industry and floated the idea of purchasing missiles from the country," Reuters reported Monday. How was this decision made?
"China’s banking and insurance regulator has declared the United States’ financial sanctions on Hong Kong organizations and officials accused of eroding the city’s autonomy as 'lacking legality,'" the South China Morning Post reported Sunday. Is this condemnation justified?
A very interesting op-ed ran recently in Consortium News, entitled "Trump’s Choice for Germany," wherein Radio Sputnik's own John Kiriakou writes, "The adage that even a broken clock is right twice a day is true. Donald Trump has made a positively inspired choice to be the next US ambassador to Germany. Col. Douglas Macgregor, US Army, retired, is the president’s choice to downsize the US military presence in Germany. Doug Macgregor is the right person to do the job." Why?
"On Sunday, President Trump released a 50-point agenda for his second term that says the president will 'stop endless war' and bring US troops 'home,'" Antiwar.com reported Monday. "The plan also pledges that the US will 'maintain' military strength and says the US will 'wipe out' global terrorists that threaten Americans. The Democratic Party released its 2020 platform this month, which uses similar language to President Trump’s agenda and calls for ending 'forever wars.'" What are we to make of this?
Reporting on Belarus detaining two opposition leaders, Reuters noted Tuesday: "Olga Kovalkova and Siarhei Dyleuski were brought to separate courts where they were each jailed for 10 days. Kovalkova is the main representative still in Belarus of opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, and Dyleuski has led strikes at Minsk’s flagship tractor factory."
Guests:
Ray Baker - Political analyst and host of the podcast Public Agenda
Dr. Emmit Riley - Political scientist and assistant professor of Africana studies at DePauw University
Ariel Gold - Co-founder of Code Pink
Robert Fantina - Journalist and Palestine activist
KJ Noh - Peace activist, writer and teacher
Danny Sjursen - Retired US Army major and author of "Patriotic Dissent: America in the Age of Endless War"
Margaret Kimberley - Editor and senior columnist at Black Agenda Report and author of "Prejudential: Black America and the Presidents"
Mark Sleboda - Moscow-based international relations and security analyst
We'd love to get your feedback at radio@sputniknews.com
